Vampire Weekend = Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, Chris Baiois. NYC. Their new album Contra was just released Jan 12th 2010.Fun/feel good tunes... I dig the 'South African sound' (the band's trademark) reminds me of what Paul Simon did with Graceland (one of the best records ever.)

Handcrafted scent by NY artist Anicka Yi and architect Maggie Peng. The fragrance is inspired by the Fusako Shigenobu, former leader of the Japanese Red Army, who was believed to be in exile in Lebanon... which is why cedar wood was used, as cedar is regarded as a national emblem in Lebanon. The scent uses three different kinds of cedar, along with violet leaf, nuts, yuzu, shiso leaf, and black pepper. The bottle is also made from cedar... each one was uniquely hand-cut by the creators.Cop it here: oogaboogastore.com

1.15.2010

Bob Barker became a vegetarian in 1979 and began publicly promoting animal rights soon afterwords, something he continues to do into his late 80s. He credits his wife Dorothy Jo, who passed away in 1981, for making him more aware of the issues around animal rights... In 1985, Bob was named national spokesman for "Be Kind to Animals Week". On every episode of the Price is Right, he's signed off saying "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered?" (after he retired, Drew Carey continued to use this phrase advocating neutering). Barker also hosted the Miss USA/Universe Beauty Pageants, but stepped down in '87 after requesting the removal of fur prizes and was refused. Bob Barker's DJ&T Foundation (named after his wife) founded in 1994, has contributed millions of dollars for pet neutering programs and to animal rescue facilities all over the U.S. He's worked with PETA to stop the inhumane treatment of bears and other animals at Zoos. Bob also donated $1 million to Drury University in order to establish a professorship on animal rights, which led to a full undergraduate degree program. He's established endowment funds on animal rights law at eight law schools, including Harvard Law School. Just this month, Bob made his biggest contribution to the cause when he donated $5 million to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in order to purchase an anti-whaling ship, used to block illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean. The ship had its first confrontation with whalers on Tuesday, as it tried to stop a Japanese whaling mission near Antarctica. I heart Bob Barker. He's a personal inspiration.LISTEN to this amazing CBC 'Q' interview with Bob about his efforts to stop Japanese Whaling for good: podcast.cbc.ca

Directed by Benny Zenga & Brian Vernor. Four months on a bicycle between Cairo, Egypt and Cape Town South Africa is not your typical safari... En route with the Tour d' Afrique, the world's longest bicycle race and expedition, the Zenga Bros (CAN) and Brian Vernor (USA) traveled more than 70 miles per day, along with 50 racers and expedition riders... they experienced the Nubian desert of Sudan, the Victoria Falls, and finally the Atlantic Ocean... I'd love to do that one day.

1.13.2010

I was definitely sad to learn that Polaroid was shutting down a while ago... but the push to bring the old camera back actually worked and the company has plans to re-release the classic Polaroid PIC 1000 and Color 600 instant film.

My friend Anthony invented this RADICAL 'Slow Kitchen' which features a bicycle-led trailer made from locally/sustainably sourced wood that transforms into a functional outdoor kitchen... it was his thesis project at RMIT Melbourne and won the 'Design for the Built Environment' national design prize. I think it's totally genius and want one myself.

1.12.2010

Before Joe Strummer (The Clash's frontman) passed away in 2002 he said that he regretted the fact that this song was used as a war victory chant/anthem of the Allied Forces during the invasion of Kuwait... and that the phrase "Rock The Casbah" was written on the side of a U.S bomb (no shit!) I've always had the complete opposite impression of this song/video... I think of Joe Strummer as a peacenik not a warmonger, who would sooner write a song about how war is a shitty excuse for oil as oppose to something positive... I don't get the controversy. In any case, it's a great sounding tune.

Architect Zaigas Gailes Birojs has transformed an abandoned soviet fish factory into a beautiful modern residence. Situated on the coast of an island in the Baltic Sea, the home is a stunning example of adaptive reuse. The plan consists of three parts, the central full-height hall, a two story apartment for parents and four apartments for children. The conversion project maintained preservation of the island’s landscape and architectural features by adding the yacht harbor, and by covering the facades with rusty steel plates and sliding shutters. Wicked.worldarchitecturenews.com